A senior Chinese official on Monday, June 14 called in GENEVA for continued international cooperation in tackling unemployment and other social problems caused by the global financial crisis.

"The international financial crisis is still ongoing, and in particular jobs recovery in many countries lag far behind their economic recovery," said Wang Xiaochu, deputy minister of human resources and social security.

"As the destiny of countries is interconnected in this world, we need to work together like passengers in the same boat to overcome the impact of the crisis, strive to build a global environment that is more fair and equitable, and achieve as quickly as possible recovery and inclusive growth through decent work," Wang said.

The official was addressing a high-level session of the 99th International Labor Conference, which lasts from June 1 to June 18 focusing on global employment issues following the economic crisis.

Wang said the Chinese government had adopted a host of measures aimed at promoting a more active employment policy and improving the social security system, as part of the country's efforts to implement the International Labor Organization's Global Jobs Pact.

He said those measures had been successful. "By the end of 2009, the most difficult period for employment in China was over. Some 11.02 million new jobs had been created in urban areas in the whole year."

"The employment situation for the youth is better than previous years. Businesses cut fewer jobs than before with growing demand for workers, and the total size of the rural migrant workers increased by 4.92 million," he added.